


Silent Storm

by Elise_the_Writing_Desk



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: F/M, Fluffs and whatnot, Gay Stuff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 11:37:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4390385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elise_the_Writing_Desk/pseuds/Elise_the_Writing_Desk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karma knows he's different. Everyone else is always the same. Looking at him in fear, in admiration, in expectation, ready to serve. Until one day, he meets Nagisa. Someone different. Someone with a mysterious cloud around him. Spending time together brewing a storm inside Karma. A storm of hate? A storm of love? A storm of war? They're not worried. At the end of a storm is a sunny warm day, after all. That much, Karma knows for sure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Boy who's Like a Star

**Author's Note:**

> Childhood arc! Yukihiro is not a canon name, don't fret.

The Akabane Family had a knack for growing roses. The vast backyard of their mansion was filled with blooming white winter roses. The gardeners were busily snipping the bushes, being watched by a red-haired little boy who had nothing to do in his quiet Sunday afternoon.

Snip, snip, snip...

Snip, snip...

Snip, snip, snip, snip...

The snipping noises were gentle and sharp, the kind of sound Karma enjoys, giving him tranquility. As a child, sharp things were curious objects. For Karma, things such as knives, scissors, or cutter do wonders. Cutting things can change the shape of an object.

“Young master,” the soothing voice of Karma’s steward, Yukihiro Shiota, crept into his vast and luxurious room. Karma didn’t hate the size of his room, but he didn’t really adore his mother’s preference of decoration. “Your parents are coming home this evening.”

A smile grew on his small face. He grinned. “Is the cake ready?”

“Of course.”

“The candles! Don’t forget, seven candles on top, okay? Red and green! And the Christmas tree? I want to put the star on top!”

“Absolutely, sir,” Yukihiro chuckled warmly. Then, he fished out something from behind his coat. Three tickets for a newly opened amusement park across the town. “I would have to give this to you earlier. I suppose it will pale in comparison to what your parents might bring for you, but...Well, happy birthday and merry Christmas, Young master Karma,”

Karma lit up, accepting the tickets in wonder. “Three? Do you think mum and dad will come with me if I give them these, Yuki?”

“I wouldn’t know, but I do hope they will,”

“I can’t wait,” the little boy grinned. “I want to fight with dad with a bumper car and see mum’s terrified face when riding a roller coaster. I want to give them a jumpscare if we go to a haunted house, and I’m going to spin the tea cup so fast so I can see them barf! So exciting!”

Yukihiro could only laugh nervously. Above all the excitements, Karma would love, even if for once, to see his parents tormented—something he had never seen in his life. This ambition so far was still unachieveable, thus Karma grew into a mischievous little boy who often torment the people around him.

The reactions he gained often disappointing, since everyone would look at him as an ‘Akabane’ and wouldn’t dare to reprimand or fight him back.

“Now, let’s clean you up and put you in your best suit. They will be coming in a few hours.”

“Fine, fine, just this once!” Karma huffed, rarely doing as he’s told, and followed the butler to his dressing room.

Even for a menace, a kid is still a kid; Christmas and birthday is as exciting as ever.

~.X.~

A silver Rolls-Royce made a quick stop in the front door. The servants welcomed the Akabane couple with respect, opening the expensive french-door and the couple passed without making any regards to their servants, completely absorbed in their own conversation. The twinkling lights, the hanging mistletoes became instantly futile in presence at their disregard.

“...And I still can not believe that they eat such a thing!” Madam Akabane’s voice was heard from out of the dining hall. Karma stood up with a big smile, a three layered chantily cake with seven candles twinkling present on the long dining table. Yukihiro opened the door to reveal Karma’s parents.

“Mum, dad, welcome back! Merry Christmas!”

“Ssh, Karma, not now. What about the next party? There are two at the same time, but I don’t want to visit the Norita without you—they’re horrendous!”  
Without any kinds of regard, the couple took a seat next to each other, not even a look on their son’s direction. Yukihiro waved to the servants to serve the dinner, as he approached the couple with the best champagne they’ve kept in the cellar.

“Great, we should ditch the Norita. Honestly, they’re not that important as they think they are,” finally, the couple continued to eat in silence. Karma hadn’t touched his food, still staring at his parents with hope, his feet dangling from his seat.

“Karma-kun,” his mother sipped the champagne before continuing, “I heard you aced last semester’s exam. You have to keep that up for the next term,” she said as a matter of fact.

“Of course, that won’t be hard,” Karma grinned, and tried to raise his height against the table. “You know, for my present, can we—“

“Oh, this cake is wonderful,” his father commented with a smile, standing to pluck off the candles, and waved to a servant for a knife. Karma brightened at this.

“Yeah, that cake is my—“

“Honey, we should bring this to the Asano’s Christmas party. This’ll show ‘em something.” He said, blowing the candles and cutting the top of the cake.

“Um, sir,” Yukihiro tried to speak, but then Madam Akabane laughed.

“You’re right, Shiota. I can’t go to a Christmas party dressed like this,” the woman stood up and waved to a different servant for her fluffy fur coat. “Prepare the limo, we’re departing soon to Hokkaido.”

“But—“

“That’s alright with the champagne, Shiota. Just do as my wife told you, now,” Master Akabane ordered, taking a bite of the cake. “Mm, this is good. Mild, not devastating. Alright, Karma, we’ll be going now, see you in a week, sports!” he gave his son an empty regard, ruffling the boy’s red-head before exiting the dining hall, still enjoying his son’s birthday cake.

Yukihiro returned from preparing the limo to see Karma was still sitting in the dining hall, now cutting his cake, kneeling on his chair. The steward frowned in worry and sadness, slowly approaching the boy.

“Young master...” he didn’t know what to say.

“I wonder if they actually realized it?” Karma muttered, suddenly reaching into the middle of his cake, and pulled out a dynamite. Yukihiro froze. “I mean, dad plucked off the candles, as if he knew that it’s where I put the dynamites...”

He dropped himself back to his seat, stared at the Christmas tree dejectedly. 

“I’ve wasted my pocket money to buy those fireworks in their Christmas gifts, and yet, they didn’t even look at them,” the little boy puffed his cheeks in defeat. Karma then felt his seat was shaking. When he looked up to Yukihiro, he saw the man was hiding his teary face.

“Yuki?”

The man cleared his throat and carefully wiped his face, pulling out a lighter. He set the candles onto a piece of cake in front of Karma, and light them.

“Well...Happy birthday and Merry Christmas, Young master,” Yukihiro said with a hoarse, yet warm voice. He patted Karma’s head gently, a great difference than the father’s passing ruffle. “Make a wish?”

Karma grinned to the man, faced his cut up cake, took a deep breath, and blew the fire along with his wish for a better birthday.


	2. The Boy with the Silent Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa is here~

It didn’t snow right away in Japan; Winter was filled with a long, cold-wind duration, whilst the fall of snow would be a probability. The white roses in the garden had been plucked and used for varying reasons. The Akabane preferred to ferment their own rose wine with their seasonal rose, hand-making Christmas wrath for decorations and other uses.

Yet, the little red-headed boy was spawning chaos, his interest absorbed solely by the gardening scissors. The morning in the Akabane Mansion was filled with crowd.

“Young master! Drop it!” the maids cried, trying to catch up with the little prick, laughing with a pair of gardening scissors in his possession.

“But these are great!” Karma laughed, climbing to the sofa in the guest room, throwing the blades in a circling motion before catching them mid-air. “I am Karma-the-Scissors-hand!” he announced, and jumped off in time before the maids caught him.

“Young master Karma, please, it’s dangerous to play those!” the gardeners who had been chasing him finally caught up in the room. “Yukihiro-sama would be angry to see this!”

“Why? It’s not dangerous at all,” Karma innocently said, throwing the gardening scissors and catching them mid-air again, making his servants watch with suspense. “Oh well, if you won’t let me play with them then,” he casually threw the scissors to the floor, and walked away as if nothing happened.

“Goodness,” the maids sighed in relief, and one of the gardeners collected the blades from the floor. However, Karma didn’t want to let them breathe in relief just yet.

“I can just play with this, instead,” the boy said, pulling out a butcher knife.

The servants froze.

They could hear the chef was glowering from afar, and Karma laughed as he began to run again.

“Somebody’s taking my precious butcher knife!”

As told earlier, the red-haired boy greatly admired sharp things. Generally tricky things. Karma had a hobby to give people a heart-attack. In the past, he had fun with fireworks, blasting everything in the house, at school, in the car. This year’s favorite would be knives and scissors.

He had no trouble keeping himself safe. Despite seemingly reckless, Karma understood and believed the importance to keep oneself’s safety.  
His belief in this matter clashed with the blue-haired boy whom Yukihiro brought today for dinner.

~.X.~

Across the small guest table, was a boy shorter than Karma by a head, meekly glancing around the glamorous room. Karma was staring at the boy curiously, since the boy was Yukihiro’s son, named Nagisa. Yukihiro only talked about his son once in a while, probably because compared to Karma, this boy wasn’t that much interesting.

At first, Karma thought he was a girl, but when he remembered that Yukihiro told him he had a son, he couldn’t help but snort a little. Why does a boy look so pretty? It didn’t make any sense.

“Dinner is ready,” Yukihiro announced as he entered, followed by a couple of maids with their dinner trays. “Is the table too tall for you, son?”

“Um,” Nagisa meekly nodded, looking around. “C-Can’t we...sit on the floor like at home? With kotatsu?”

Karma laughed at the suggestion. “Haha! That’s gross! Who sits on the floor?” he laughed at the very absurd idea. 

However, his laughter was echoing in the silent room, and Karma gradually fell silent, realizing there was something he didn’t understand. The maids had this wry, yet understanding smile. Yukihiro was laughing awkwardly, and Nagisa was looking down in shame that only the top of his head was visible across the table.

There was a world beyond his knowing. Beyond the manners and cultures he’s educated, Karma knew nothing of how a regular Japanese family would have dinner. He knew nothing about a kotatsu, or a floor-table which some family that couldn’t afford a dining table would eat together at.

After stacking adequate sitting pillows to support Nagisa’s height, they began to eat dinner. Karma watched as Nagisa seemed overwhelmed by the variety of forks, spoons and knives set by his meal. His father patiently told him to take example from the red-head, and Nagisa seemed to spend a lot of courage just to look at Karma.

“You eat the soup with a soup spoon—the small one, correct. And the fish, it has bone in it, you have to take it out using that knife. Hold the fork with your left hand, Nagisa-kun. Good boy,” Yukihiro warmly laughed, patting his son’s head, and nodded to Karma. “Please enjoy your dinner. I must attend the brewery. Be good boy, Nagisa,”

Yukihiro left the guest room. Karma kept watching Nagisa, who was being too careful as he ate. Apparently, the shorter boy realized his staring, and his face gradually grew redder.

“What is it, Akabane-sama?” Nagisa braced himself to ask.

Karma raised his eyebrows, slightly disappointed to find the boy just like the others. “Do you know why you have to hold your knife with your right hand?”

“Because it’s a dominant hand?”

“No, because if you accidentally hold it with your left hand when you’re eating dinner with the Queen of England, they will cut your hands off,”

Nagisa turned pale in instance, gripping onto his silver utensils as hard as he could, glaring at Karma in fear. The red-head blurted a laugh at this obvious reaction. The boy across him was such a commoner!

“No, it’s just a joke. It’s all this thing called ‘etiquette’ or something.”

The boy let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t think I will ever eat with a Queen, though—or any royalty, for that matter. I mean—“ he blushed again. “I can’t believe I’m eating with someone as rich as you are! This is making me...ugh...” 

“What?”

Nagisa frowned, glancing away. “I...I just want to go home. I want to eat at home. I don’t understand why Tou-chan took me here...”

Karma blinked. “Why? Is this food not good? Is the food at your home better or something?”

“No, sorry!” he quickly shook his head. “I’m just...not used to this,” he meekly admitted.

The red-head tapped his fingers on the table. “Then, how do you usually have dinner?”

~.X.~

“A-Ara, anata, welcome home,” Nagisa meekly greeted, greeting Karma from the door, and waved his hand to the cardboard-table they made on the floor. “Would you like to have dinner first or bath?”

Karma gruffly took a seat on the sitting pillow, slamming his fists onto the cardboard table and shook the food on top of it. “Shut up and sit down. Serve me already, you good-for-nothing wife!”

“Y-Yes, Karma-kun,” Nagisa weakly and obediently approached the table, taking out a bowl of rice for Karma. “Today I bought some edamame to go with your sake after dinner, if you’d like...”

Karma glared at the blue-haired boy menacingly. “Edamame...? Of all things you could serve me for snack, it has to be edamame? I’ve worked hard for this family, and that’s all you got for me!?” the red-head gritted his teeth in anger.

Nagisa shivered in fear. “I-I’m sorry...I didn’t have enough money for a more decent sn-snack—“

“You’re saying I didn’t give you enough, then!?” Karma snapped, then, setting his hands below the table, he flipped; “DON’T SCREW WITH ME, WOMAN!”

Karma flipped the table.

The fish, the miso-soup, the rice and what-not flew off in an arch-motion before finally hitting the ground with loud shattering noises.

The door of the guest room was slammed open, revealing a pale Yukihiro and a couple other servants behind him.

“Young master!? What happened!?”

Karma grinned. “I’ve always wanted to flip a table like that. Well that was fun!” he laughed.

Yukihiro twitched, staring down at the mess on the floor.

“What is this?” he slowly turned to his son. “Nagisa?”

Nagisa stuttered. “W-We were reenacting a family comedy drama that Karma-kun once read in a manga...He...He said he wanted to flip a dining table.”

“Well, there’s no harm about it, right?” Karma casually whistled, completely guiltless. “It’s not like I’m so hungry or anything...But yeah, that was fun! Alright, Yukihiro, please clean that up, will you?”

Yukihiro sighed and pulled out a napkin from his pocket, but then, Nagisa came up to Karma and slapped him in the face.

“What was that for!?” Karma yelled.

“So—So you flipped an entire course of meal for fun, and asked my father to clean that up!?” Nagisa angrily snapped, his blue eyes burning with heat. “It must be so great to be so rich, huh?”

Karma narrowed his eyes at how condescending he trailed his tone. No one had ever spoken to him that way.

“You agreed to it, though!”

“I didn’t know you were going to flip the table! I didn’t read the manga!” Nagisa snatched his father’s napkin and knelt down, beginning to clean up the mess on the floor. “And even so, I guess it’s my fault, so I will definitely clean it up! I don’t have any servants to order around, after all!”

Karma’s eyes widened, and his face was burning in shame. Yukihiro was very overwhelmed with his son’s sudden outburst.

“Nagisa! You shouldn’t speak like that to him! Get up—it’s my job,”

“It’s alright, I did this, just leave it, Tou-chan,” Nagisa stubbornly said, half-way finishing the floor, stacking the plates and bowls. The maids began to collect them from behind.

“Give me that,” Karma mumbled, snatching the napkin from Nagisa’s hand. He began to wipe the miso-soup spilling under the sofa.

“Young master, you shouldn’t!” Yukihiro pleaded.

“Shut up, Yuki!” Karma snapped, his face was very red. “I can clean up after myself. Or do you think I’m too dumb for that? I’m seven! I’m already grown-up!” without waiting for a response, he continued wiping the floor.

Nagisa was collecting the food scattered around whilst scolding Karma. “...Don’t miss that rice under the chair, and how are we going to clean up the stain on that carpet?”

“I got it, I got it, just shut it!”

Yukihiro watched his son and his Young master with wide-eyes, unable to find a word to say. He took Nagisa to work today, hoping that Karma would have a friend to go to the new amusement park. Yukihiro didn’t understand why his son was very nervous and hateful towards his job; perhaps Nagisa had been carrying a silent storm within himself.  
Nagisa might have been antagonizing the Akabane. Being only seven, it was obvious that there were many things he didn’t understand. However, Yukihiro was glad to see that his son finally open up. Even more, the other boy probably had learned something he had never understood from inside his world. In truth, Karma might actually be happy than how he looked.

Because, that was the first time someone was brave enough reprimanded Karma Akabane.

Though, Karma was still going to find out if Nagisa Shiota was really brave or just plain dumb. There was something about the bluenette that fascinated him; the sensation he had once felt when watching a storm during a summer cruise. Today would be a flash of that storm he saw from Nagisa.

For Karma, the beginning of a storm. The kind of storm that is yet to be learned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aa I can't wait to write more of them! It's so fun to explore them in a childhood verse! Stay tuned~ My headcanon is Nagisa being the first person who would speak up and scold Karma, how he becomes the first person Karma would actually listen to~


	3. The Boy who Learns to Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twice longer than earlier chapters.

The winter continued with cold wind, the snow was yet to fall. The streets were filled with twinkling light, still in the spirit of Christmas. Crowds filling in the pedestrian, greeting each other, wrapped in their warm clothes, passing by the window of the car. In the Porsche were a man of his thirties, a red-haired boy, and a very tense and nervous Nagisa Shiota.

The day was sunny enough to play in an amusement park. Nagisa didn't understand why he had to go and accompany Karma Akabane, though. The bluenette couldn't bear to look at his father's Young master; the person whom Nagisa had scolded yesterday.

Ever since Nagisa blurted out in anger, Karma had been following and dragging him everywhere. The shorter boy wondered if he would have to spend the rest of his winter vacation with this kind of awkward feeling.

"Ooh!" Karma exclaimed, rolling down the window to pop his head out. "They add a new loop for the roller coaster?"

"Young master, that's dangerous. Please sit down," Yukihiro warned, pulling the boy back to his seat. "Besides, you're not tall enough for that ride."

Karma wanted to protest, but then he caught Nagisa's stare, and behaved himself, only letting out a huff. Yukihiro raised his eyebrows at this improvement, and silently glanced to his own son in curiosity. The man had been wondering why Karma would behave so obediently when Nagisa was around. Five minutes after Nagisa went home the other day, Karma had started blasting fireworks in the laundry room.

The blue-haired boy for some reason felt pity towards the disappointed red-head, and pulled out the list of rides.

"Karma-kun, we can still try rafting," he tried to cheer the red-head; "We're too short for the safety belt right now. Maybe if we're taller, we can ride the roller coaster one day. How about that?"

Karma hummed, once again, that peculiar stare on the bluenette that caused a lurch in the boy's stomach. Yukihiro was expecting Karma to spout a sharp refusal or tantrum, but he was rather surprised.

The apple-haired boy grinned. "Then, we go ride it together when we're taller, yeah?"

Nagisa laughed wryly. "Well, I don't think I can ever enter this park again in the future. It's very expensive. I'm just lucky that you would take me,"

"Humm, then, when's your birthday? Hey, Yuki, when we're tall enough, can I take Nagisa to this park again on his birthday?" Karma asked his loyal butler, for some reason, asking permission. This also surprised the old man. Karma would usually decide things as he pleased.

Yukihiro smiled. "I don't mind, but that's up to Nagisa," the man ruffled his son's hair, and then fixed the ponytail. "What do you think, Nagisa-kun?"

Nagisa was saved from the obligation to answer when the car stopped and the driver opened the door for Nagisa, whilst Yukihiro hold the other door for Karma. The red-head cheered at the sight of the enormous entrance gate, and glanced to see Nagisa's amazed expression.

"Cool, huh?"

"It's like the entrance of a kingdom!"

Karma laughed at Nagisa's exclaim, for some reason, he seemed to enjoy watching the bluenette's reactions. Yukihiro ushered them to the locket so that they could get the free-pass bracelet. When inside, they were greeted by a vast brick-path branching to various rides and places. They cheered at the sight of the giant Ferris wheel welcoming them straight ahead.

"Hey, let's ride that one now!" Karma said, pointing at the ferris wheel.

"Usually people ride that before going home, though," Nagisa shrugged, but smiled, ready to follow Karma everywhere. "What's wrong?"

"Then, let's ride that for the last. What about the Twister? We can ride the Twister! Come on, Nagisa-kun!" Karma laughed and dragged the shorter boy to the Twister Ride. Yukihiro sighed, deciding not to try to catch up to Karma's pace, and prayed that his son could bear it. No one had been able to keep up with Karma's pace, after all.

~.X.~

Coming early, the park was relatively crowd-less that the boys could easily and quickly enjoy several rides. Karma had been forcing Nagisa to get on a Pendulum—a ride where they would be flipped upside down on the edge of a pendulum-like construction—repeatedly, saying that they would get taller faster.

When Nagisa was still trying to figure which was the sky and which was the ground, Karma had dragged him for the Spinning Tea-Cup. The red-head spun the ride so fast that the technician screamed for them to stop and banned them from the ride.

"What a lamer! I was having fun!" Karma huffed, walking out of the ride area dejectedly, dragging Nagisa by his collar. "Should we go for the Pendulum again?" he turned to Nagisa, smirking. "Do you feel nauseous?"

"I feel…kind of sleepy," Nagisa yawned. The red-head cackled.

Karma laughed out loud whenever he's on an adrenaline rushing ride, screaming in joy and excitement, clashing with the other passenger's scream of fear. Nagisa was far-off crazy, often nearly falling asleep during the rides. Karma found this really funny, especially how Nagisa apparently enjoyed his extreme spinning tea-cup.

"Ne, Karma-kun, why do you drag me by my collar?" Nagisa asked, as they were heading to the rafting area.

"It will be hard to drag you by your ponytail, though," Karma pointed out as-a-matter-of-fact. Nagisa hummed, pulled away Karma's hand from his collar, and held onto it.

"Isn't holding hands much easier?" Nagisa asked, waving their hands, stopping to line for the raft. Karma stared at their hands joined together, humming.

"But we're not boyfriends or anything," Karma pointed out innocently.

Nagisa tilted his head with a frown. "But I thought we're friends! Then what are we?"

"I thought you're my pet," Karma mocked, and earning a loud dramatic sigh to his amusement. "Then, we're friends?"

"If you don't mind being friends with me, I suppose," Nagisa shrugged.

"Then, you're my boyfriend?" Karma teased, but Nagisa didn't think of it as something odd.

"Well, you're a boy, and you're my friend, so you're my boyfriend, what else?"

Karma had to hold his laughter for this once, and dragged Nagisa by the hand as they got their turn to put on the life-jackets. Being only seven, it was normal for Nagisa to be clueless of this matter. Karma, on the other hand, having learned foreign cultures and whatnot, was fully conscious of his flirting. He had expected Nagisa to be completely clueless of it.

"What is this?" Karma deadpanned upon realizing that they had to share the raft with two other strangers. He smiled to the technician man. "Hey, can't we get a raft for ourselves?"

"No can do, squirt. It's getting crowded here. Take it or leave?"

Karma scoffed. "I'll have you know, I am—"

"Come on, Karma-kun?" Nagisa's cold hand tapped his shoulder, he looked excited. "What are you waiting for?"

Grudgingly, Karma gave a glare to the two strangers—one of them glared back—before finally clicking his life-jacket and walked to the raft.

"Fine, but we're in the front!" Karma childishly said, dragging Nagisa to sit on the front side of the raft.

"Brats,"

"Akashi-kun, leave it,"

"But Tetsu…"

"It doesn't make any difference, you know?" Nagisa said, "The raft will spin at some point, so front or back is the same," he told Karma, and then smiled to the older passengers.

"Hear this kid?" one of them said, and finally they got onto the raft and were pushed down the stream.

At first, it went quite slow, and Karma began to yawn, sneaking a glare to the strangers. "This is too slow,"

"Then, should we row?" one of the strangers suggested.

"Tetsu, don't do labor works for brats like them,"

"Akashi-kun…"

"Come on, Karma-kun, let's row this!" Nagisa invited, handing the paddle to Karma, who seemed unimpressed by his obedience and consideration to other people. Sighing, the red-haired boy straightened himself, and a mischievous grin grew on his features.

"Then, I won't hold back…" he muttered.

And began rowing like a whipped slave on fire.

"Whooo!"

"Hey, this is too fast—Tetsu, tell this brat to—don't freaking all asleep!"

Karma laughed as their raft slid quickly, hitting a big river stone, resulting them to momentarily fly in the air.

"How's that, Nagisa!" Karma laughed, turning to see Nagisa was also laughing. "Gotta admit, this is pretty fun!"

"I know!" Nagisa giggled when their raft spun due to the impact against the big rocks. However, his smile faltered upon realizing that the sleeping stranger was nearly thrown out of the raft. "Watch out!"

Nagisa threw himself to catch the older stranger on time.

"Tetsu! Hold on to the handler, you fool!"

"Sorry," the teen yawned, blinking to Nagisa. "Thanks for—"

"Whoah!" Karma's exclaim disguised a terrible splash in the water, as the other two strangers could only watch the terrible turn of event. "Hey, Nagisa—"

"He fell—he fell! Akashi-kun, that boy, he just—"

Karma's eyes widened. He could no longer hear the loud exchange between the older strangers upon seeing Nagisa, who just fell into the man-made river, and was dragged by the stream. The red-head screamed, trying as he might, rowing against the tide, and was in vain. Their raft was momentarily standstill upon hitting another rock, but that only caused Nagisa to pass the raft.

"Damn it, I can't catch him!" one of the strangers cussed, failing to catch the boy. He turned to Karma with a tense look, while his friend was calling for help, waving to the technician.

"Nagisa's…Nagisa is…"

"Don't worry, it's alright," the other stranger, the calmer one, assured. "Your friend will be alright. They will prepare a safety net to catch him at the waterfall."

The rest of the rafting session was dead of excitement, as neither of them tried to pick up the pace by rowing. All Karma wanted was to quickly get off the raft and see for himself that Nagisa was safe. It was the most terrifying thing he had ever witnessed—how Nagisa was wide-eyed and pale that he couldn't scream; dragged off by the tide and disappeared.

~.X.~

Being quiet and apparently brooding was an odd view for Karma Akabane. However, that's what he's doing, holding onto Nagisa's hand tightly as they kept walking around the amusement park. Passing the rides, the exhibition grounds, and booths, without a word. Rather than holding, Karma was gripping onto Nagisa's hand.

It was shivering. Karma's hand.

Nagisa glanced to the taller boy who had a scowl and had no words to say. He remembered when he was lifted by the technicians from the safety net, nearly falling off the waterfall. The ride was supposedly safe, as the bottom of the middle-height waterfall was free of rocks, but the bottom of the river was too shallow that it would injure Nagisa if he fell.

He remembered getting up and was welcomed by the passengers he was with earlier, saying repeatedly that he's glad he's okay and asking if they're alright, before apologizing for his clumsiness. Karma was just glaring at him, not saying a word. After yanking the life-jacket off of themselves, the red-head dragged Nagisa away from the rafting area, and wasn't interested to even look at the other rides.

"Karma-kun," Nagisa braved himself to call, "Can I buy some ice cream?"

Karma stopped, and scowled to Nagisa, who flinched. The red-head looked around, caught a bench in sight, and dragged his friend there.

"Sit there,"

"I can go buy it my—"

"Please." Karma said with a hard tone that didn't allow refusal. Nagisa sat down quietly and watched Karma blended into the crowd.

Nagisa wasn't quite able to decipher Karma. However, he had learned due to the time he spent with his mother, when to speak and when to obey. He knew that Karma would explode, somehow, if he stubbornly refused. Not that Nagisa could imagine how, and why. He didn't understand Karma's actions towards a nobody like he was.

He thought Karma would bully him or hate him for his outburst yesterday. Nagisa was conscious of his standing compared to Karma. Karma was a rich, clever boy coming from a famous family—a boy who had Nagisa's father at his beck and call. Nagisa understood that it was his father's job, but as a child, he couldn't help but despise Karma for it. Seeing his own father agreeing to Karma's wishes only aggravated him on the inside. However, he was just him. Nagisa Shiota, a nobody. Nothing special.

So Karma's overturn of attitude towards him was quite overwhelming, as Nagisa had prepared mental armors if he were to see the boy again.

Yet, here he was, waiting for the 'Young master' to return with his ice cream. This was quite shocking.

~.X.~

Karma groaned, forgetting to ask what kind of ice cream Nagisa would want. He glared at the menu board and ordered the most expensive one. The apple-haired boy glanced around the park emptily as he waited for his order.

As a boy who had always thought for himself, Karma's mind was quite chaotic after the terrifying experience. He knew full-well that the ride was safe no matter what accidents would happen, but he was deadly afraid when seeing Nagisa disappeared into the river. He wasn't being logical at all. He forgot all calculations and comprehension to his surrounding and was just simply angry at everything in this park.

Karma realized this, and yet, he's completely aware that he was avoiding any rides. He couldn't find himself to trust this park ever again, which was ridiculous—and Karma knew that he was being ridiculous and unreasonable.

Nagisa was his first friend. The only person who could keep up with him. He's not dumb and he's brave, also considerate to a fault. His consideration was what allows Nagisa to accept Karma as he was. Maybe Karma simply didn't want to lose that kind of person.

However, upon returning with two gelato in each hands, Karma became anxious, unable to find the bluenette in sight.

"Oh crud…I told him to sit here!" he grumbled to himself. It would be hard to find a shortie like Nagisa—not to mention his hair color could somehow become transparent, blending into the crowd, unlike Karma who would stand out anywhere he was.

"But I am sitting here,"

Karma's eyes widened; a cold shiver ran down his spine—a stabbing sensation through his back. He tensed, but managed to turn and found Nagisa sitting precisely where he told him to. A wry smile.

"How can you not see me?"

Karma forced a laugh. "Haha, I was just joking—because you're a shrimp, that's why."

"Ugh…" Nagisa sighed, and eyed the gelato in his friend's hands. Karma handed one right away. "I forgot to tell you what I want, but you picked correctly! I love butterscotch gelato. Thanks, Karma-kun," he grinned and remembered to pay. "How much is this?"

"My treat," Karma chuckled. "Hey, let's go home after we finish this,"

Nagisa hummed. "But we haven't gone on the ferris wheel yet,"

"I don't wanna," Karma said decisively. "It's boring."

Nagisa didn't say anything and tried to finish his ice cream.

~.X.~

Karma made a point that he didn't want to get on the ferris wheel, and yet, Nagisa stopped on his track, his hand was still held by the red-head. The taller boy turned to stare at the bluenette with a cold look.

"I told you, I—"

"Well, I, want to." Nagisa smiled apologetically. "If you want to go home, you can go with my father, Karma-kun. I will ask my mother to get me later. It's alright."

"I don't want you to get on the ferris wheel either."

"It's less dangerous than playing knives or exploding fireworks in a house," Nagisa replied with a slight spitefulness in his tone. Karma's eyes widened, his cheeks slightly reddening, but he scowled in irritation and stubbornness.

"I'm not an idiot," Karma reasoned. "I can handle fire and knives just fine. But you—"

"So you're saying I am a clumsy idiot?"

"Yes," Karma said in satisfaction. "I mean, you did, fell into the river."

Nagisa kept his smile, tilting his head. "Doesn't explain why I have to obey you all the time." Before Karma retort, he added; "I'm not Tou-chan."

Karma closed his mouth, licking his lips, before presenting his argument again. "Well you're my friend, that's why."

"Then, your concept of friendship is weird," Nagisa stated. "Friends are different than servants. Of course, I would be happy if you'd fire my father from his job if speaking against you would do it—but no, right?"

There was something cold about the way Nagisa spoke. Karma raised his eyebrows, unable find a retort for this, but tried to return to the main argument.

"We're talking about ferris wheel, not friendship!"

"Well I want to ride it, and you don't."

"You idiot!" Karma blurted in anger, his face red from embarrassment and fury. "I am worried about you! You're that kind of idiot who never thinks for your own good—who thinks you're not special or something…Yuki will be mad at me if he knew what happened, and then you won't come to play with me again!"

It was fortunate for them that the park was too crowded for anyone else to notice their bickering. Nagisa's eyes widened in disbelief, and Karma was glaring at the ground.

The bluenette was surprised to know that Karma took him as a friend seriously. He didn't expect that—he was too drowned in his jealousy towards Karma. Nagisa felt remorse from his cold words and demure thoughts. He never really tried to understand Karma, but Karma could see right through him.

Karma could see him.

Nagisa was considerate.

"Yeah, I know that," Nagisa took Karma's hand. "But ferris wheel won't kill us, right? Come on!" he grinned, and this time, dragged his friend on his own accord.

Knowing how prideful Karma was, Nagisa pretended that he never heard or saw Karma's outburst of worry. However, he would remember it in his heart, to remind him that someone cared. To remind him of the true Karma, and their friendship. An important keepsake if one day a storm would come to break them apart.

…

"Look, Karma-kun! That's your mansion! It's so big; we can see it from here…"

"Hey, why don't we do what commoners do in a ferris wheel?"

"Right, selfie!"

"Hmm, not that, but you know…I read somewhere that this is the perfect place to conceive a child."

"…What kind of things you've read, Karma-kun…"

"Shouldn't you be yelling about how you're a boy, or something?"

"Why? It's not like you don't know that already. It's weirder to point that out, you'd tease me for actually hoping for something romantic, right?"

"Tch, you're so not romantic, Nagisa-kun…"

"I don't need to be romantic, since we're not married or anything."

"Hmm…married, huh…"

Oh, Nagisa-kun, if only you knew…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Karma, can you be gayer than this? Please be.


End file.
